An interview with ‘Miss Santa Ana 1967’, Pamela Ponte Gallegos
Mrs. Gallegos, to begin with, myself having been a resident of Santa Ana for many years, at various times I have been involved with the city’s historical society as well as being active in my historic neighborhood, ‘Wilshire Square’. With a fondness for history and the past and as a collector and seller of 1960’s music and antiques, that is the curious way which brought me to you. Back in 1995 while on an antiques buying trip driving across the country in my 1959 Cadillac, I was in an antiques store in Albuquerque, New Mexico sifting through boxes of old papers and photos. I came across four city of Santa Ana, California street maps from 1960, 1965, 1966 and 1967. When folded up, each of them had a black & white photo of ‘Miss Santa Ana’ on the front. Your image as ‘Miss Santa Ana 1967’ was a stunning and perfect example of mid-1960’s female class, elegance and beauty. Since discovering those maps, I have always wondered what became of ‘Miss Santa Ana 1967 – Pamela Ponte, as well as the other ladies who were associated with the other city maps . Years later, I saw an on-line a post by you to a page where people were commenting on their memories of the old ‘Saddleback Inn’ on East 1st Street. Thanks to the internet, here we are today. So, are you a Santa Ana native? Continue reading